The Deepest Darkness
by Alize Remix
Summary: Sofia and Paul were dead. Mistress Jane was dead. Master George has no way of communicating or rescuing him. Tick is all alone with Reginald Chu who has taken him on as his apprentice. Features a Dark!Tick.
1. Realizing You're Completely Alone

**The Deepest Darkness**

**By Alize Remix**

**Summary:**Tick has lost both Sofia and Paul during the trails Reginald Chu put them through. Blinded by anger when he faced Mistress Jane, Tick's lost of control of Chi'karda killed her. Master George has no way of communicating or rescuing him. Tick is all alone with Reginald who has taken him on as his apprentice. Features a Dark!Tick.

**Author's Note:** This is my take on how the second book should have been. Much love goes out to the real series. Please support The 13th Reality series(it's really good, believe me). I'd love to hear from any readers on how I can improve this fanfiction.:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the 13th Reality.

* * *

**Part I**

_Realizing You're Completely Alone_

* * *

_"For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'"_ - **John Greenleaf Whittier**

* * *

Sofia and Paul were dead. Mistress Jane was dead as well. And it was all his fault. It was all his fault.

.

.

.

The moment he saw Mistress Jane hit the wall he knew her neck snapped and she was dead. He had killed someone. He had _murdered _someone. His heart beated harder against his chest. His breathing became faster. What would his family say? Would they even want to see if they found out what he did? He was forever stained, his hands were stained with the death of his enemy.

Tick did not mean to kill Mistress Jane, he honestly didn't. When her hands wrapped around his neck, he didn't think anymore as the air left his lungs. He could no longer breathe and couldn't focus on anything. The images of his decreased friends, family members living in the Prime Reality without him, and Master George and the others flashed in his mind. He couldn't allowed himself to die, he couldn't let his friends' deaths be in vain. He needed to come out of this alive.

That's where everything went down from there. When he began freaking out, his control of Chi'karda was lost and it attacked Mistress Jane in self defense. All the anger, sadness, and pain he had felt in the last few weeks took immediate aim for Mistress Jane and she was no more. His Chi'karda saw to that.

After the entire journey he had went through, what did he really have to show for it? His friends were dead, Mistress Jane, his one semi-friend in Chu's prison, was dead, and worst of all, Master George had no way of rescuing him. He was alone now. He was all alone.

Being so wrapped up in the moment, Tick did not realize someone had opened the metal door that had locked both him and Mistress Jane in before. A dark shadow figure stood over the fallen Tick. Smirking, the man placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. His grin slightly twitched as he felt Tick flinch at his touch but quickly re-bounced.

Reginald Chu smiled coldly at the broken boy before him. "Congratulations, Atticus," He let his eyes wander over to Mistress Jane's lifeless body. "You've won."

* * *

The outcome of the short lived battle had surprised Reginald Chu, something that was not easily done. The small, thin, underage boy had somehow managed to gather his Chi'karda, even though he had made sure his specialized room blocked out any and all Chi'karda, and quite literally ripped Mistress Jane off him and killed her in the process. Both amazed and a bit frightened by this, Chu had to made sure he chose his next move with extreme caution.

Atticus was in an unstable condition meaning he could react very violently to anything that dare approach him let alone do him harm.

Now that the boy had risen against his challenges and defeated each and every one, not without a few sacrifices of course. Oh yes, the boy would surely blame Chu for the friends he lost, though it truly _was_his fault. He must chose his next move carefully, he was walking on thin ice with Atticus.

"Sir," called one of his scientists. "Atticus,"

"I am well aware of the fact that our dear old Atticus has won, thank you for informing us, Grettake." The scientist's ears went red and he turned back to his screen. Chu wondered about the boy's mental health now. Even killing someone by accident would leave permanent scars in his mind. He wondered how he was going to side-step this major hole. If he misstepped, no doubt he would be the next one tossed against the wall.

He finally reached a decision. "Open the door."

"Sir?" Some of the other scientists called out but were silenced by a glare from Chu. They obeyed his command and opened the door for him. For the first time in a long while, he took a deep breath and exhaled.

He was met with an Atticus on his knees staring blankly at his hands. God only knows what was going through the boy's mind. Chu made sure to keep his steps quiet and stepped closer to the unresponsive Atticus. As he drew ever nearer to the boy, he was reviewing what words he would speak first to the boy. Almost lost in thought, he finally reached the boy who seemed lost in his own world. Which he probably was.

Managing a tight smirk, Chu pushed out a hand and placed it gently on the boy's shoulder. He almost frowned when Atticus flinched away from his hand. Didn't the boy know he was not trying to be a threat but offering a friendly hand? He pushed down the feeling of anger and a ping of sorrow that swelled in his chest. He pulled out his trademark smirk once again. He had to show the boy he meant no harm.

"Congratulations Atticus." He could not recognize the softness in his voice but kept going glancing over to Mistress Jane's dead body. A sting of guilt worked it's way into Chu's mind. It was his fault she was dead, it was his fault Atticus was forced to kill her. He shook away the terrible thoughts, this wasn't the time for them. "You've won."

Reginald could have slapped himself. What a horrible thing to say after he's just taken someone else's life. A loud sob broke the silence Chu had left.

The boy was crying uncontrollably in his hands. Atticus's entire body was shaking as he dug himself deeper into his knees as if hoping to just sink into the floor. For a moment, Reginald was at a lose at what to do. He had never dealt with a crying child. He had no experience on how to comfort a distressed pre teen. After a couple of seconds of uncomfortable sobbing from the boy, Chu took it upon himself to pat the boy lightly on the back.

Atticus took notice as he lifted his head slightly off his knees and looked at Reginald. Chu felt taken back as he stared into those dark brown eyes of Atticus. The way the boy stared made Chu feel as if the boy could see through him, into his soul.

"W-what do you-u-u want?" The boy managed to say. Not feeling very confident at the moment but was glad that Atticus hadn't attacked him, yet, Chu offered a bright smile that Attius, as he predicted, did not return.

"To take you to your new room." The boy's eyes widened and looked almost frightened. _Of course_, a voice in the back of Chu's mind said, _he's still a boy of Master George's. _From the tales Master George probably told the young children, this was to expected.

"But...but..." His eyes dratted around the room wildly as if searching it for an answer. Chu's breathe hiked. He must not let the boy's emotions get the best of him.

"Shh, it is alright." Chu, as gently as he could, grasped Atticus's shoulder. Atticus winced and tried to push away from the man who took his friends from him and put him through so much pain and suffering. Reginald quickly released his grip on the boy and stepped a foot away from the boy. He must give the boy space to breathe and relax.

Tick's breathing slowed down when Chu spoke again. "I am not your enemy, Atticus."

Rage suddenly filled those usually mellowed brown eyes of his. Mr. Chu barely had a moment to prepare before he was pinned against the wall just as was Mistress Jane by Atticus's Chi'karda. Atticus stood up wobbling side to side trying to stead himself. "How...can you say that?" The boy demanded.

"Atticus-"

"NO!" Tick's voice had changed into a deeper, much more scarier tone. Almost as if he was a demon possessing him. "YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO TAKE MY FRIENDS FROM ME. YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO MAKE ME A MURDERER. AND NOW YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY YOU'RE NOT MY ENEMY?"

"Atticus, please-!"

"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME!" Then something happened that shook even Reginald Chu right down to his core. Something so unexpected, something so terrorizing, Mr. Chu's heart almost jumped out of his chest.

Atticus's eyes had turned fully and completely blood red. "ATTICUS!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" If there was any time Reginald had ever been frightened in his entire life, it was at his moment where he truly believed he was going to die. A short thirteen-year-old would be the death of him. Oh how karma was laughing itself straight to hell with this. One the most intelligent men in the history of all the Realities would soon met his end at the hands of a boy he had hoped would be his apprentice. What a way to go.

Fate would have had its way had the floor and walls not opened and drew out all sizes of weapons imaginable. Atticus took no notice of the weapons pointed directly at him but continued to focus all of his attention on Chu.

Before Mr. Chu could even begin thinking about acting his lips had already started to move. "STOP! DO NOT FIRE! I SAID DO NOT FIRE!" Panic spread throughout his body and Reginald began struggling to free himself from Atticus's hold.

Tick finally acknowledged the weapons and dropped Reginald at once. He sank back into his knees as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. "I didn't...I didn't mean...I-I-I-" Reginald rose to his feet immediately and ran towards Tick. The boy raised his arms up across his face awaiting a hit to come from Reginald. Chu took a moment to shake himself from the shock before slowly and gently placing a hand on Tick's shoulder again.

His tears broke and Tick looked up at Chu through tear-filled eyes. "They won't hurt you. I will **not **allow it." The hardness in Chu's voice surprised even Reginald Chu himself.

Tick blinked once at the man. And then he fainted.

* * *

Somewhere from under the Grand Canyon Master George was sitting at his office with his head in his arms. He had failed Sofia, Paul, Sato, and most importantly, Tick. Oh yes, Tick. Master George let him and his friends walk right into Reginald Chu's plan, he let Tick and Sofia keep going even after the Glass Tunnel had taken their friend, Paul. He let Tick continue even after he'd lost Sofia in the accident that Mistress Jane caused. He willingly let Reginald catch Tick. This was all his fault. He had made Sato go to the Fragmented Reality even though he knew how dangerous it was for him. And now Sato was strapped to a bed in confinement having lost his mind.

And the worst part of it all was that Master George let it happen. And he couldn't do anything about it now.

Sofia was dead. Paul was dead. Sato had lost his mind. And Tick was trapped with the most dangerous man in all of the Realities.

* * *

**End of Part I**


	2. Demanding Hope For Others

**The Deepest Darkness**

**By Alize Remix**

**Summary:**Tick has lost both Sofia and Paul during the trails Reginald Chu put them through. Blinded by anger when he faced Mistress Jane, Tick's lost of control of Chi'karda killed her. Master George has no way of communicating or rescuing him. Tick is all alone with Reginald who has taken him on as his apprentice. Features a Dark!Tick.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the 13th Reality.

* * *

**Part II**

_Demanding Hope For Others_

* * *

_"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."_ - **Friedrich Nietzshe**

* * *

"I have one request from you, Mr. Chu."

"Then speak it, Atticus, and I shall prove to you that I am not your enemy."

"Free Sato from your control."

"Pardon?" Reginald Chu swifted uncomfortably in the chair next to Atticus' bed.

"I said free Sato or I won't believe you." Atticus found his voice to be much stronger than usual but he had just dusted it aside as being a part of his body's reaction to growing older. He'd done a lot of that in the pass few weeks thanks to the man sitting right beside him.

Mr. Chu's silence held in the air for a while before he had the courage to voice himself.

"...Very well." Atticus almost would not have believed it had it not come from Chu's mouth. Chu had agreed to free Sato from whatever mind control he had kept the boy in for a while now. "However, I should let you know it will take some time before I can fully restore Sato to his former self. It may take months."

"I don't care as long as you **do** it." Chu had not smiled. How those words would haunt forever.

"There is nothing I cannot do, Atticus." Atticus almost laughed.

"You can't bring the dead back," Tick couldn't hold back. "You can't play God forever." Tick wondered whether Chu truly believed himself to be above the rest of the Realities. Surely he was not that driven with power.

"Not yet, Mister Atticus."

Tick wasn't sure which statement Reginald was refering to.

* * *

Mothball was in a state of utter depression. She had done nothing when Sato nearly died and came under the influence of Mr. Chu; even though she could do nothing in the first place. She had done nothing when both Sofia and Paul had died, Master George had forbidden her or Rutger from doing anything. She had done nothing when Tick had fallen into Mr. Chu's hands.

No words could describe just how useless she felt inside. She was dead from the inside out.

Mothball lost two of the people she considered as good as her children. Yet...even in knowing this, she knew there was still some hope.

Sato was alive; insane, but very much alive. And Tick, oh sweet, dearest, Tick was alive, in the most dangerous man's hands in all of the realities, but alive. For the time being.

She, Mothball, promised that at the first chance she got, she was going to dive into Mr. Chu's stronghold and recuse Tick even if it killed her.

Which it most likely would.

* * *

The only thing Sato knew was darkness. He didn't think. He didn't feel. Time did not exist for him. He only existed on the outside.

Sato was just floating; floating in a sea of emptiness. He was nothing. That is all he was and that was all he was ever going to be.

He didn't remember anything from his past or present. He only needed to exist.

He was getting bored. It was a boring existence, after all. Just being was tiresome. Sato wanted to break free of this hell; his prison that he didn't remember getting into.

What had he done to deserve to be punished like this? Certainly he wasn't that bad of a person was he? He no longer knew.

The only thing Sato knew was existence.

And it was getting dreadfully awful.

* * *

"Is he awake yet?"

"Was the city of Rome built in a day?"

"No. But-"

"Then it is quite obvious that I cannot rebuild a person in a single day." Tick's glare did not soften at this. "I should tell you that rushing me will only lead me to make mistakes and I am sure that you do not want me to put your friend in danger's way."

"It didn't stop you last time." With that last comment silence filled the room. How far had Chu gone to see to it that Atticus would be standing (sitting really) before him, partically defenseless, and bent to his uses?

He had cost the boy his friends and pushed him to split accidental blood on his innocent hands. Though he knew this, he never felt guilt for his actions and probably never would. The deaths of those three had brought him his prize in the end; he had won.

No, what Reginald was worried about was the boy's mental state. Proper killing took training, least it leave one's mentally in ruins. The same could be said for watching a person die right before one's eyes, even if they did not know the dying person. It is a human emotion known as empathy, an emotion Chu clearly lacked.

However, it wasn't just anyone Tick saw die, it had been two of his closest friends, Miss Sofia and Mister Paul. And although the two were archenemies to the death, Mistress' Jane's death would not go unchecked in Atticus' conscience.

Still, Reginald had no remorse for their deaths and Tick knew it. Chu wanted the boy's abilities, nothing more.

The very thought shook Tick's inner core. Tick would most likely be dead without his Chi'karda. It seemed to be a double edged sword; his Chi'karda, it had saved him but at the same time, trapped him.

Never had he wanted some kind of message from Master George so badly even when he began receving the damnable letters almost two years ago. How long had he been sealed with Chu in his hold? It seemed like years since Tick last saw sunlight, he had a sinking feeling that he would not for a long time.

"Tell me," Chu stated, looking up from his computer screen. "Is Sato close to you?" The question raddled Tick out of his thoughts.

"No," Tick answered before he could stop himself. "Why should that matter?"

Tick saw Reginald's eyes darkened and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "It should." The older said, tapping his chin never once looking away from the other.

"Why is that?" Tick heard himself say. Feeling out-of-body, Tick felt as if he was watching the conversion from outside his body.

"It isn't worth the pain to go through hell if someone isn't important to you." A distant expression spread across Chu's face, and he stared intensely at the young man. That look chilled Tick. It was so full of raw emotion and showed a side of Reginald, Tick didn't think existed. If he was daring enough, he would even say that the man's eyes held a deep pain he was never able to get over.

After that episode, the two sat in an awkward silence. Chu working over his computer, focusing on the screen and not the boy next to him. Tick allowed his mind to wander as he felt it safe for the moment now that the man was distracted.

There was more to Reginald Chu than he or any of the others had believed.

* * *

**End of Part II**

**Author's Note:** Reply to Positive Potter: It's depressing isn't it? But for the sake for the fanfiction's plot and development, they died because this is to progress Tick's conflicting emotions, thus giving Tick a darker approah to the Realities, as well as Mister Chu and Master George and company. This is not going to be a happy story, as they say; "It's all down hill down from here." It's just going to get darker and darker from this point on. I just thought the 13th Realities could be have had more tense atmosphere if Sofia and Paul had died due to Mister Chu's challeneges (how they died will be explained later in the story) as well as Mistress Jane's actions (she's not innocent of all her crimes). I'm just a fan who is just a bit off her rocker.

To the other reviewers: Thank you so much for your feedback guys and I apologize for the very late updating. You could say that I've had a writer's block these pass few months and I will try to update faster. Also- I apologize for the short chapter after waiting a long time for a new one. I promise the next ones will be much longer.


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